Hook statement techniques

1. Introductory
Ms. Alter

2. The True Story by A. Wolf
Everybody knows the story of the Three Little Pigs. Or at
least they think they do. But I'll let you in on a little secret.
Nobody knows the real story, because nobody has ever
heard my side of the story. I'm Alexander T. Wolf. You can
call me Al. I don't know how this whole Big Bad Wolf thing
got started, but it's all wrong. Maybe it's because of our
diet. Hey, it's not my fault wolves eat cute little animals like
bunnies and sheep and pigs. That's just the way we are. If
cheeseburgers were cute, folks would probably think you
were Big and Bad too. But like I was saying, the whole big
bad wolf thing is all wrong. The real story is about a sneeze
and a cup of sugar.

3. WHAT’S A HOOK?
 The ability to catch the reader’s attention
and make them want to read on.

4. Types of Hooks
 Startling statement
 Quote
 Rhetorical Question
 Shocking statistic
 Humor
 Analogy
 Anecdote

5. Starling statement
 We can thank Pandora for a world full of jealousy,
lies, old age, and other evils.

6. Quote
 “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our
deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond
measure. It is our light, not our darkness, which
most frightens us.” Nelson Mandela

7. Rhetorical Question
 How would you feel if you found out that the
murderer of the per- son you loved most in the
world was about to be set free after only two years
in prison?

8. Shocking statistic
 On a recent anonymous survey, over ninety percent
of high school males admitted to secretly enjoying
the music of 'N Sync and to practicing their "hot
dance moves."
 74% of teenagers say that they are typically excited
to return to school at the end of summer each year.

9. Humor
 Why is it that, when I go to school with my
underwear on my head, the world looks at me as if I
were unusual? High school kids are so caught up in
their little cliques that I feel like I’ve got to become
one of those“ underwear under the pants” types
too.
 (Note: Humor is not appropriate for all classes and
teachers. Use good judgment.)

10. Analogy
 Life is like a race. The one who keeps running wins
the race and the one who stops to catch a breath
loses.
 “They crowded very close about him, with their
hands always on him in a careful, caressing grip, as
though all the while feeling him to make sure he
was there. It was like men handling a fish which is
still alive and may jump back into the water.”
(George Orwell’s narrative)

11. Anecdote
 A close friend of mine was in the Vietnam War and
he admitted to me that he was terrified every time
he had to go into battle. Even so, I consider him one
of the most courageous men I have ever known. It is
not the absence of fear that defines courage, but the
ability of one to force oneself to take action in spite
of fear.